On 15 June 2019 the Hampshire Genealogical Society held its annual conference and AGM with a sell-out crowd of over 150 delegates. With people travelling from far and wide (including one from Louisiana, USA) it was a fantastic opportunity for members to meet up and for non-members to experience the benefits of joining the society.

As well as the usual opportunities for networking, three speakers gave talks on different aspects of family history research. Roz McCutcheon, showed the differences between tracing records associated with the poor in Ireland compared with the rest of the UK, whilst Simon Fowler gave an introduction to using the National Archives.

The keynote speaker of the day was author and President of the Federation of Family History Societies, Nick Barratt, who offered a glimpse into the future of family history. Not simply about social media and online databases, but for the need for family historians to recognise the importance of their work and research skills and use them to work with other historians, especially those who focus on histories of localities.

More information on the Hampshire Genealogical Society section of this website or on the Hampshire Genealogical Society website . For assistance with research projects, help can be obtained via: enquiries@hgs-online.org.uk

 Elaine Boyes, 3 July, 2019